Back on the work front up-date

This is the part of our blog that reminds us that it is because I work at BSCIS that we are here in Japan having all of these adventures.

So, on the work front things continue to grow, solidify and evolve.

Our cycle of marketing is now happening for the second year. I am speaking to groups of Cram School teachers who heard me last year. I am going to the Study in Canada fair now for the third time. I meet with parents who have heard about our program through friends of theirs who already have a daughter in our program. We are now in a position to talk about how the girls have actually done on their exams and their English assessments. The students have done very well on both their BC and their Japanese exams so this has become one of the key points in our outreach information. Exam results and ultimately what universities students get accepted to are key selling points for Japanese parents. 

Drew is working one of our information tables at two days of school out reach this last weekend.

       

We continue to bring in a whole variety of visitors to give our students an idea about the broad possibilities for them and their future careers. This is Dr. Rebecca Miles, who also happens to be my sister, who came to talk to the classes about her work as a professor, as a multi linguist, and what path led her and her life to where she is now. She is currently heading off to Kerala, India where is she is taking on a seven month research project.

I also always enjoy the opportunities that our students have to enrich their Japanese heritage here at the school. Here is the calligraphy teacher in the calligraphy room along with some of our new JET program teachers and Rebecca and her husband Ward.

        

Naginata, A club activity.

          

Traditional Japanese flower arranging, another club activity choice.

                                     

Now that we have both grade 10 and grade 11 students we are enjoying having both classes work together. Here are the grade ten students sharing the results of their five week homestay in British Columbia with the grade 11 students who asked questions and wrote comments on their projects.

          

       

With our grade 10 students we are constantly looking for ways to engage the students in learning the high-level English vocabulary associated with the curriculum content. Here are some examples of using drama activities to engage in the class novel they are reading.

         

                                    

The students also have the opportunity in their home economics class to enjoy both Western and Japanese cooking.

                                        

We have enjoyed having Philip visit us. Philip is a volunteer from Atlanta Georgia who just graduated from college and is very interested in Japanese life and culture. He works with all classes to help improve their English and is also creating a film for us about the double diploma program.

                                     

This is also the time of year for the annual Rose Festival. I wrote a blog last year about this festival which continues to amaze me. This is an opportunity for our school to open up at stores, invite the neighbors, and celebrate all of the activities that happened here. On both Saturday and Sunday there are at least 2000 people wander around the school, checking out the events, and chatting with teachers and students.

As per last year, one of the highlights is the fashion show. There's a whole section of our school which is dedicated to students who are interested in learning the fashion industry. Half of every day is spent designing, sewing, and learning about the fashion industry. This fashion show is the highlight of their year and also the highlight of the festival. Check out some of the amazing work of these students do.

On a Japanese cultural theme:

                                 

On a flower theme:

                                  

On a Halloween theme:

                                  

On a universe theme:

                                  

On a candy theme:

                                   

On a high-tech you U/V filter theme:

Above and beyond the fashion show, each homeroom had their own theme, and their own activities. Here are some of the grade 10 DD students:

                                   

With me trying out one of their games:

                                   

All of them proud of their Canadian experience that they just came back from:

                                     

The grade 11 students also had their class theme and many more involved in the volunteer club:

                                    

                                     

                                     

Saturday night was, once again, a chance for students to let loose, to relax and to enjoy a variety show that includes a "special" act by the new teachers. So yes, once again, as international staff we took on the challenge of performance before a very kind and enthusiastic audience. Check out the screams!

The show was based on an old Japanese TV show that had the TV personalities trying out tongue-twisters. This year the Japanese staff did 3 Japanese tongue twisters and one English one. We did 3 English tongue twisters and one Japanese one. See what you think:

Dan MCing:

Paddy:

Philip:

It was a hilarious and fun evening!

Everybody had the day off on Monday to recoup from a very busy weekend.

As I do my daily work and work with a whole variety of young and vibrant international staff, I very much have in my heart my father's experience in China. As a young man he chose to volunteer in China during revolution. Here is a new photograph we came up with of him as a 25-year-old in China.

                                              

I value the opportunity to work in a multi cultural environment where all of our cultures come together to make us more full human beings.